Posts Tagged ‘50p coins’
Why did The Royal Mint revert to the Queen’s decimal first effigy?
2021 marks 50 years since our UK coins turned decimal, in the biggest numismatic change seen in centuries.
In celebration of this significant anniversary, The Royal Mint issued not one, but TWO Decimal Day 50ps in 2021. The reverse designs are the same, but that certainly can’t be said for their obverses…
The first version of the Decimal Day 50p, available exclusively in the 2021 Annual Coin Set, features the original Arnold Machin portrait of Her Majesty The Queen on the obverse – the same obverse used for the UK’s very first decimal coins.
However, the individual coin which was released later in January, featured Jody Clark’s fifth portrait of The Queen instead.
So why did The Royal Mint revert back to the Queen’s first decimal effigy for this new issue? Join Change Checker as we take a closer look…
Spot the Difference
The 50p available in the Annual Set which features the original Machin portrait on the obverse, quickly caught the eyes of collectors as this was the first time we have seen The Royal Mint revert a previous portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II on a base metal UK coin.
Marking 50 years since our UK coins went decimal, it seemed only fitting that this coin should include Machin’s obverse design.
But, when the Decimal Day 50p was individually released later in January, collectors had the opportunity to get their hands on a second version of this coin, as Jody Clark’s portrait of The Queen featured on the obverse.
So with two versions of the 2021 UK Decimal Day 50p out there, this coin is set to become a real talking point among collectors!
Arnold Machin Portrait
The significance of this anniversary and the fact that the Machin portrait of HM QEII was the first to be used on the UK’s 50p, makes for the perfect excuse to revert back to this previous effigy on the exclusive Decimal Day 50p within the Annual Set.
The UK’s very first decimal coins (5p, 10p, followed by 50p) actually entered circulation before 1971 and as they were circulating together with pre-decimal currency, a new portrait of The Queen was commissioned to help the new coins stand out.
Arnold Machin’s new portrait showed The Queen wearing a tiara given to The Queen by her grandmother, Queen Mary.
We love the fact that collectors have the chance to see this previous portrait reused on this brand new 50p and it certainly makes for interesting collecting!
Have you secure both versions of the 2021 Decimal Day for your collections? Let us know in the comments below!
But that’s not all, as this is not the first time we’ve seen different obverses used on the same coin…
2015 Battle of Britain 50p
In 2015, The Battle of Britain 50p shot to fame as collectors were quick to spot that there were THREE different versions of the coin, with different obverses on each of them.
The Brilliant Uncirculated 50p was issued early in 2015 and was quickly dubbed an ‘error’ coin. The coins, which were sold in presentation packs, had been struck without the denomination in either numbers or writing anywhere on the coin. Chancers were quick to play to this, with some managing to sell on the coins for near to £100 each on the secondary market.
After the controversy surrounding the coin erupted, the Royal Mint confirmed that the 50p intended for circulation later on in the year would have the ’50 PENCE’ denomination. But was this after they had realised their mistake?
So how did this coin end up with three different obverses?
Each version of this coin has caused a stir in the collecting world. Not only does this Battle of Britain 50p fail to feature a denomination on the Brilliant Uncirculated version, but the obverse is different for each finish used for the coin – a first for a UK commemorative coin.
In 2019, a brand new re-issued Brilliant Uncirculated version of the Battle of Britain 50p (from the 2019 50th Anniversary of the 50p Military Set) saw Jody Clark’s portrait and the 50 PENCE denomination – making this the FOURTH version of this 50p!
Do you have any of the Battle of Britain 50p coins? Let us know in the comments below!
Secure the 2021 Annual Set with the Decimal Day 50p that features the original Arnold Machin obverse!
Own ALL FIVE brand new 2021 coins in superior collector quality for JUST £40.00 (+p&p).
Each coin has been struck to a superior Brilliant Uncirculated quality and protectively encapsulated in official Change Checker packaging, within in a Change Checker Display Page – perfect to slot into your Change Checker Album.
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First look: 2021 Royal Mint Annual Coins Design Reveal!
As we celebrate the arrival of the New Year, at Change Checker HQ we’re also celebrating the arrival of new coins – The 2021 Annual Coins!
We can’t wait to reveal to you the new 2021 coin designs and I’m sure you’ll agree that there are some really fantastic coins to look forward to.
So let’s kick off the year with the coins we’ve all been waiting for, the 2021 Annual Set…
Decimal Day 50p
This year marks the 50th anniversary since Decimal Day on the 15th February 1971 and to celebrate the biggest change our UK coinage has ever seen, a brand new 50p has been issued.
In commemoration of the anniversary, this brand new 50p, designed by Dominique Evans, features the original Machin portrait of Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse, which featured on the very first 50p back in 1969.
The 50p has become the most-collected and best-loved decimal coin since its introduction and given the significance of this anniversary, I’m sure this 50p will prove very popular with collectors.
John Logie Baird 50p
It’s hard to imagine life without television but back in the 1920s, it was a complete unknown.
That was until John Logie Baird successfully produced televised objects in outline in 1924, transmitted recognizable human faces in 1925, and demonstrated the televising of moving objects in 1926. This was the very first-time that television had become a reality and it shaped the world that we live in today.
This brand new 50p, designed by Osborne Ross, celebrates the life and works of this remarkable British inventor, electrical engineer, and innovator.
H. G. Wells £2
Herbert George Wells was an English novelist, journalist, sociologist, and historian best known for his science fiction novels The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds.
In the year marking the 75th anniversary of his death, this brand new £2 coin has been issued, feature a design which pays a fitting tribute to his famous novels, with a depiction of the Invisible Man and a Martian encircled by clock numerals.
The inscription also reads one of his famous quotes, “GOOD BOOKS ARE THE WAREHOUSES OF IDEAS”. We love Chris Costello’s design and we hope you do too!
Sir Walter Scott £2
2021 commemorates the 250th anniversary of the birth of novelist, historian, and poet, Sir Walter Scott.
He is considered both the inventor and the greatest practitioner of the historical novel.
The coin, designed by Stephen Raw, features the text: “SIR WALTER SCOTT NOVELIST HISTORIAN POET” encircled by the inscription “250TH ANNIVERSARY OF HIS BIRTH” and the year date.
Excitingly, this coin also features the edge inscription, “THE WILL TO DO, THE SOUL TO DARE”, a quote from his epic poem, ‘Marmion: A Tale of Flodden Field’.
Queens Elizabeth II 95th Birthday £5
This year, our Queen will celebrate her 95th birthday and to celebrate, The Royal Mint has issued this £5 coin.
The coin features a design by Timothy Noad, of the Royal Cypher and the inscription “MY HEART AND MY DEVOTION” alongside the date of the Queen’s birth and the year 2021.
In 2016, a £5 coin was issued to celebrate Her Majesty’s 90th Birthday and it proved incredibly popular with collectors, as she became the first British monarch to reach their 90th birthday. As she reaches another significant milestone, I’m sure this celebratory coin will prove just as, if not more popular!
The announcement of the new annual coins is always an exciting moment for Change Checkers, particularly when the anniversaries are as significant as these.
Do you have a favourite coin from the set? Let us know in the comments below!
Secure the 2021 Annual Coin Set to your collection today!
If you love these coins as much as we do, you can secure them as a set today for JUST £40.00 (+p&p)
Secure yours by clicking here >>
The 50th Anniversary of Decimal Day 50p
On February 15th 1971, the UK’s currency went decimal and this enormous change to UK coinage called for one of the biggest publicity campaigns our nation had ever seen!
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of ‘Decimal Day’, The Royal Mint released a UK 50p.
This Decimal Day 50p, designed by Dominique Evans, features overlapping pre-decimal coins in an ode to Decimal Day, with the date ‘1971’ at the centre of the design.
Over the years, the 50p has become the most-collected and best-loved decimal coin in the UK. We’ve seen some amazing coins issued since Decimalisation. In this blog, we take a closer look at some of Change Checker’s favourites.
2019 50th Anniversary of the 50p Coin
2019 marked a milestone moment for coin collectors as the world’s first seven-sided coin celebrated its 50th anniversary. To celebrate the anniversary, The Royal Mint issued this 50p.
This coin was designed by The Royal Mint design team and is said to ‘pay tribute to the science that gave us the world’s first seven-sided coin’.
Featuring Christopher Ironside’s iconic Britannia on the reverse, inscribed with ‘NEW PENCE’ just as the original 1969 coin was, this unique 50p has not one, but two special features:
- An exclusive never-before-seen mint mark; the Spirograph type design has been drawn from an extension of lines forming the 50p shape
- A minting first; on the outer rim of the reverse design, the letters A-G appear on each point and are joined by crossing lines.
The first-ever £2 coin!
In 1986, a brand new UK denomination was introduced in the form of a £2 coin.
Prior to the introduction of the bi-metallic £2 coins in 1998, single-coloured, nickel-brass £2 coins were issued, purely to mark special occasions. Between 1986 and 1996, there were seven different designs of the single-coloured £2 coins.
The 1986 Commonwealth Games £2 coin changed the face of UK commemorative coins, being the first of its denomination to be struck and the first British coin being issued to commemorate a sporting event.
Do you remember the old specification £2 coins? Let us know in the comments below!
The bi-metallic £2 coin!
The new type of £2 coin was introduced in 1997 and featured an innovative bi-metallic design – the first in the history of British coinage.
The concentric circles on this design by Bruce Rushin represent mankind’s technological evolution from the Iron Age at the centre, to the cogs and wheels in the first ring representing the Industrial Revolution.
The next ring symbolises the computer age with a pattern derived from a silicon chip and the final outer ring represents the age of the Internet with a connecting web of lines.
This design was used on definitive £2 coins from 1997 to 2015!
Britain’s Round Pounds
The first UK £1 coin was issued in 1983 to replace the £1 banknote, which only lasted a few months in circulation! The £1 coin quickly became a hit with collectors, with everyone trying to hunt down the different designs.
The first £1 coin design features the Royal Coat of Arms designed by Eric Sewell, a chief engraver at the Royal Mint. It also features the edge Inscription: DECUS ET TUTAMEN.
This coin was issued in 1983, 1993, 2003, 2008 and has a circulating mintage of 623,304,510.
After more than 30 years in the nation’s pockets, the familiar round £1 coin was replaced with an all new, 12-sided £1 coin in 2017 and it lost its legal tender status at midnight on 15 October 2017.
Despite this, some round pounds remain incredibly popular with collectors, due to their designs and their low mintages.
Nations of the Crown £1
The new £1 coin first entered circulation in March 2017 and it features 12 sides.
Billed as the most secure circulating coin in the world, the new £1 has been formally named ‘The Nations of the Crown 2017 UK £1′.
The coin, designed by 15-year-old David Pearce following a public competition in 2015, is made up of the English rose, the Welsh leek, the Scottish thistle and the Northern Irish shamrock emerging from one stem within a royal coronet to represent the four constituent countries of the United Kingdom.
5p and 10p Coins
In 1968 the 10 New Pence coin entered circulation to replace the florin as part of Britain’s conversion to a system of decimal currency.
The public was uncertain about using this new coin to start with, after generations of pounds, shillings and pence, meaning the Decimal Currency Board still needed to reassure suspicious Britons to go decimal.
Our 10p coin has seen three different definitive designs and in 2018 we saw our first-ever commemorative designs, with the release of 26 A-Z of Great Britain 10p coins!
In April 1968, 5p coins were issued as a replacement for shillings in preparation for decimalisation in 1971.
These were released into circulation at the same time as the very first 10p coins.
In 1990 and 1992, the specifications of the 5p and 10p were reduced, respectively. On 27th June 1990 the new 18.00mm 5p was introduced and 30th September 1992, a reduced size version of the 10 pence coin was introduced
Since decimalisation, we’ve seen some incredible definitive and commemorative designs to our UK coins.
Let us know in the comment which definitive design is your favourite!
Secure the 2021 Decimal Day 50p for your collection!
The 2021 Decimal Day 50p is no longer available from The Royal Mint, but you can still get your hands on it in Brilliant Uncirculated quality for just £12.99 (+p&p) >>